First Aid & Backpacking – Contents of a Medical Kit

When was the last time you’ve taken a look into your travelers first aid kit? Has it been updated recently?

While traveling, especially if you’re taking an extreme outdoor adventure, it is important to carry proper first aid supplies in your backpack to help you maintain minor health situations as well as pre-existing medical conditions.

You can purchase your travelers first aid supplies at just about any local pharmacy but, to personalize your medical kit for your specific trip, you really need to start from scratch.

Luckily for you, creating your own medical kit, or at least making some adjustments to the one you currently own, isn’t that difficult. Although contents within a travelers health kit can vary widely pending on your destination, type of travel, length of trip, and other medical situations, I’ve put together a broad list of things I like to carry with me while going on an overseas adventure tour and other outdoor adventures.

Analgesics/Anti-inflamatory – Aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol, or Aleve

Antidiarreal – loperamide (Imodium)

Antacid – Pepto-Bismol

Motion/Sea sickness – Dramamine

While a medical kit is the best way to be prepared for an accident, you may want to take it a step further and become certified in First Aid too. Having all the contents on you may be handy, but if you don’t know what to do with them or how to treat yourself properly, you might as well be lost in the woods. If you end up using some of the contents in the bag, keep a mental note to replace whatever was used as soon as possible.

Additionally, you may also want to include extra toothbrushes in your Med Kit as you never know when you’ll drop, lose, or accidentally contaminate you toothbrush. The last thing you want to do after dropping your toothbrush in the public shower is pick it up and put it back in your mouth.

What do you carry on your personal medical kit while traveling?

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Ron Robbins has been traveling non-stop around the world since the founding day of his blog Active Planet Travels back in June of 2011. He has found most of his professional interests in being a travel blogger, television host, photographer & bizarre food enthusiast. Visit his site and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with his latest adventures around the world!